by Pyper James
“Can I offer you some breakfast,” Mildred inquired, still trying to be a good hostess.
“Sure,” Mr. Graham replied. “I did have a question, though.”
“What can I help you with,” Mildred asked as she uncovered the breakfast she’d prepared for the guests.
“When will we be able to check out?”
Hearing Mr. Graham’s question was like pouring salt in an open wound, but Mildred held her head up, offered a pleasant smile, and a plate.”
“Still not sure, Mr. Graham, but I do expect to hear from the sheriff soon, hopefully, this evening.”
Taking the plate extended to him, Bradford thanked Mildred for her reply.
“But if there is anything I can do to make your stay more pleasant, just let me know,” Mildred said.
“Well, breakfast is a good start.”
Chapter Eight
It didn’t take Vivica long to arrive at the Sheriff’s station. As she pulled the Volkswagen bug into the graveled parking lot, she saw Sheriff Harper and Deputy Gathright stepping out of the building. Instead of pulling into a parking space, Vivica pulled up to the door.
“Where are you guys headed?”
“Just got the call from Coroner Mitchell. He wants us to come to his office,” Harper replied.
Considering the coroner’s office was just a block or so away, Vivica whipped the beetle into a parking spot and got out, joining the fellas as they walked.
“Does that mean the autopsy is finished,” Vivica asked as she fell into step with Harper and Gathright.
“At least the preliminary report,” Harper replied.
It took but a few moments to arrive at the coroners. The last time Vivica was involved in trying to solve a crime, the one that almost landed her in the poke, Coroner Brown Mitchell had come to the sheriff’s office with information. This was the first time she’d actually been to the coroner’s office. Her steps became halty as Gathright held the door opened for them to pass through. Almost immediately, Vivica was hit with the strong smell of chemicals; some probably for cleaning, but the other smell her nose immediately detected was formaldehyde. Her nose wrinkled from the olfactory assault and her eyes made the adjustment from sunlight to ultraviolet light.
Harper led the way back to the room. Vivica walked behind him with Gathright bringing up the rear.
“You ain’t scared are you,” Gathright taunted, leaning forward so Vivica couldn’t miss hearing him. She didn’t reply, but instead shot Gathright a steely look. He chuckled as they continued to walk up the narrow hallway.
She was out of sorts but Vivica would never admit that to Bo. Harper didn’t break his stride. When they arrived at the back of the building, Harper took off his hat as he knocked on the closed door. The sheriff didn’t want for Coroner Mitchell to respond as they were expected. The knock was out of courtesy to alert that the team had arrived.
Vivica’s eyes opened wider as they moved into the room. While the men greeted each other, Vivica’s eyes traveled around the room, taking in the cool steel gray wall of refrigerated boxes where the newly departed rested, the bright overhead lights shining even brighter in the center of the room where the examination table was, and the bank of tools that sat just beside. It was eerily clean; like super clean to the point that she imagined what the space was like when the coroner was working. Her eyes drifted to the table that sat in the middle of the room. The crisp white sheet that covered the remains was pristine as well. She could feel her heart beating harder in her chest and the first inkling of goosebumps lifting on her skin. Every horror movie Vivica had ever watched flashed in her mind. She could hardly believe where she was. This was the part of amateur sleuthing she hadn’t really given much thought to; well, none at all. Yet, even with her nerves being on edge, there was an excitement that brewed just underneath the surface.
“If everyone is ready, I can start with what I’ve found so far,” Coroner Mitchell announced.
The men walked up to the gurney in the center of the room. The coroner stood at the head, and Gathright and Harper flanked him on either side. Johnathan looked around and saw that Vivica had barely moved inside the door of the office. He smiled, concealing a chuckle and waved his hand, encouraging her to come and stand next to him. She was so embarrassed. All eyes were on Vivica as she unsteadily padded in Johnathan’s direction. At the same time, she tried to appear confident. Vivica didn’t want to look like the rookie in the room. Coroner Brown waited until she made her way beside Sheriff Harper before lowering the sheet.
She gasped and then tried to stop herself from doing so as the paleness of Mr. Gingham’s face came into view. Instinctively, Johnathan reached out and grabbed Vivica’s hand as discretely as possible. She jumped with the unexpected touch, but then allowed Johnathan to grab her hand. He kept his eyes on Brown and Bo to see if they noticed. They hadn’t. Vivica was grateful for the comforting touch as she tried to pull herself together while simultaneously chastising herself.
Rookie move, Viv, rookie move.
Vivica took a moment, closed her eyes, gripped Johnathan’s hand, and took a deep breath. She had to get it together and remember why she was there. This was not about her but finding out what happened to Mr. Gingham. With her thoughts centered, Vivica opened her eyes, but she still held on to Johnathan’s hand as Coroner Mitchell started speaking.
“This was an interesting process; well, I find all autopsies interesting,” Brown chuckled, “probably why I chose this profession. But more to the point, this situation with Mr. Braxton Gingham was interesting because even after I pulled him into the light, I still couldn’t figure out what caused his demise.”
Vivica had never known Brown Mitchell to ramble before. He had always presented to her as rather stoic and forthright in his words. Maybe, being in his own office, on his own turf, so to speak, he felt comfortable to be more himself. Still, it was uncanny how chatty he seemed.
“Just like we assessed in the vineyard, there was nothing overt that could readily be seen. In order to get something preliminary established, it was necessary for me to work most of the night. I scoured over everything, examined and re-examined every inch of Mr. Gingham. Then, I found it,” Brown announced proudly.
“Well, what did you find,” Gathright asked, sounding a bit irritated with all of brown’s pontificating.
Coroner Brown chortled before responding. “Well, Bo, I found the slightest pin-hole prick right at the jugular vein, right about here.”
Both Harper and Gathright followed Brown’s finger to the place on Braxton’s neck where the miniscule pinprick was detected. Vivica wanted to look, and eventually she did; slowly and with one eye open. She was relieved when there was nothing gruesome to see; however, she refrained from leaning in any closer like the others did as the spot was practically undetectable with the naked eye. Just having a sense of where the place was, was enough for the amateur sleuth.
“So, it was poison then,” Harper asked, standing back to his full height but still holding on to Vivica’s hand.
“My first thought as well,” Harper concurred. “And because of that, I ran a number of tests. The skin around the injection didn’t offer much insight. There was no discoloration of the skin, as you can see, which would eliminate certain poisons but not others. So, I drew blood and sent it off to the lab, requesting a rush. If there is any chemical imbalance or the presence of a substance that is unnatural, then we can determine what kind of poison.”
“So was this murder or not murder,” Vivica asked, finally speaking up.
“The prick of the skin, in this location, suggests foul play, Ms. Meadows. Just how foul, that we don’t know; not yet.”
“Can you completely rule out natural causes or even suicide,” Harper asked.
“Well, there are those poisons that mimic natural events such as heart attacks, strokes and that kind of thing. As far as suicide? It’s not improbable that Mr. Gingham could have stabbed himself in the neck.”
“But if he
did, sure we would have found the syringe somewhere around,” Harper replied.
“And I don’t think he would be asking for help,” Vivica added.
“Unless he regretted his decision,” Gathright offered.
“Hmph, I guess that’s possible,” Vivica replied. “But when he called out for me to help him, he looked so scared, so frightened, like what was happening was unexpected.” Just thinking about that moment gave Vivica chills.
“My best guess right now, is that Mr. Gingham was murdered. However, until I have something more definitive, then I suggest not revealing that to anyone. I wouldn’t want to be found in error,” Brown concluded.
“Then that’s how we will operate, as though this was a homicide,” Harper agreed. “Thanks, Brown, and as soon as you hear from the lab, please make me your first call.”
“Will do,” Brown replied.
The trio took their leave and walked back down to the police station. Vivica was relieved to finally be out of the coroner’s office and breath fresh, formaldehyde-free air.
“So, what’s next,” Vivica inquired.
“We didn’t really have a chance to compare notes last night about the interviews we conducted. I think that should be the first thing we do. That way, if there is someone who stands out, we can focus our attention there. I also think we should probably go back to the vineyard and see if there is possible evidence we missed last night,” Harper advised. All of that sounded spot on to Vivica.
“Was your aunt successful in finding out if Mr. Gingham had any family?”
“Not as of yet, but she plans to work on that today,” Vivica answered. “I’ll help her if she hasn’t found anything by the time we get done today.”
“Don’t you have a business to attend to,” Gathright asked as they rounded the corner to the station. “I don’t mean no disrespect, just thinking out loud,” he quickly clarified.
“I do,” Vivica scoffed. “But first things first.”
Gathright had to be satisfied with her answer because that’s all Vivica intended to say to him. But his inquiry did bring up all the things she should be doing in order to keep her business moving forward. At the same time, this situation adversely affected her aunt; the one family member she had left in the world. Figuring out this case had to be the priority, so Aunt Mildred’s business could continue to thrive. As they moved to the door, Vivica waited until Gathright entered the building before she reached out and touched Harper on the shoulder.
“Thanks for what you did back there,” she offered.
“Anytime,” Harper answered with a brilliant smile. Instantly, Vivica felt flushed and a rush of heat to her cheeks. She realized she was still holding on to Johnathan’s shoulder and quickly dropped her hand. Johnathan smirked seeing just how flushed she was. He let her off the hook by not pointing it out to her; rather moving to the door and holding it open so she could pass through.
Once inside, everyone gathered around Harper’s desk.
“Bo, did anyone stand out last night for you?”
Reaching into his chest pocket, Bo pulled out his notepad and flipped it open.
“There was nobody that stood above the crowd as suspicious,” Bo began. “Talking to Mr. Caldwell Jones was probably the most informative. But he had nothing but good things to say about Braxton.”
“What about you, Vivica,” Harper asked.
“Nothing remarkable other than my conversations with Noah, one of the kids and Ms. Sophie.”
“What did you learn from them?” Harper continued.
“Well, Noah saw Mr. Gingham in the vineyard a day or so before the incident. I guess, that’s not necessarily remarkable but he was the only one of the children who even knew who Mr. Gingham was,” Vivica continued. “My conversation with Ms. Sophie was probably the most enlightening. I think they had a thing going!”
“Like romantic,” Gathright scoffed.
“Yeah, like romantic,” Vivica gushed. “When she talked about Braxton, her eyes just lit up.”
“Did she say anything about an argument or anything? Were they on bad terms,” Harper asked.
“No, she didn’t,” Vivica replied. “Nothing but positives. When I asked if there was anyone she could think of that would want to hurt Mr. Gingham, she didn’t come up with anyone.”
“That seems to be the general consensus,” Harper replied. “Nothing in my interviews last night, either.”
The three sat silently for a moment, contemplating the situation.
“Which one of you interview the guy who asked about lawyers?” Harper questioned.
“I did,” Gathright replied. “He was new to Mulberry Grove, according to what he said. He didn’t even know Gingham.”
“What was his name,” Harper asked.
Bo thumbed his notebook for the answer. “A Bradford Graham.”
“Did he say where he was from?”
“Not really. He seemed kind of bothered by being questioned,” Gathright said. “He wasn’t rude, just really short with his answers.”
“Understandable under the circumstances, especially if he didn’t know the victim,” Harper reasoned.
“Do you know anything about him, Vivica?”
“No, nothing more than seeing him in passing,” Vivica answered. Just then, her phone chirped to life. Pulling it from her pocket, Vivica swiped the phone and read the text.
Baby, now!
“Oh my! I’ve gotta go,” Vivica said.
“We’re not finished,” Harper called out, watching her dash to the door.
“Can’t stay! Winnie’s having her baby!”
Vivica couldn’t get to her car fast enough. This was exciting! She still held the phone tightly in her hand, and once inside the car, Vivica hit speed dial and called Winifred’s phone. The call was answered on the third ring, but it wasn’t Winnie.
“Jacob?”
“Hey Vivica,” he replied. His voice sounded rushed. Vivica could hear moaning in the background she assumed was Winnie. “We’re at the hospital.”
“I’m on my way,” Vivica announced.
Disconnecting the line, Vivica turned on the ignition, put the car in drive and headed to Dahlonega General.
Chapter Nine
Fortunately, nothing in Dahlonega was too far away. That was the thing about small towns. It only took a few minutes to get anywhere. There were no real traffic jams, like in the big city. The worst that could happen was being held up by a train. Thankfully, Vivica didn’t encounter one as she made the mad dash to Dahlonega General. Although she broke the speed limit, Vivica wasn’t too concerned. She’d just left the two people who could rightfully pull her over a write her a speeding ticket.
Vivica couldn’t whip the beetle into a parking space fast enough. Once she was parked and out of the car, she trotted towards the emergency room doors. Dahlonega was a small town, but every hospital Vivica had ever been in was big and the hallways seemed to go on forever. She spotted the customer service desk and rushed up to find out where her friend was. There were quite a few people in the emergency waiting room. Fortunately, there was no one standing between Vivica and help at customer service.
“Maternity ward?” Vivica asked in a rush.
“Third floor, and down on the right,” the customer service rep replied. With a hurried thank you, Vivica padded down the hallway and found the bank of elevators that would lead her upstairs. Pushing the button, Vivica danced from one foot to the other waiting for the elevator car to arrive. It felt like it was taking forever, but eventually the doors opened. Vivica had to stop before rushing in to allow those exiting to clear out. As soon as she could, Vivica stepped inside and repeatedly pushed the call button for the third floor. The dancing continued as Vivica felt the excitement grow. She had missed so much of Winnie’s life, and the births of her children being away. Vivica was glad she didn’t have to miss this one.
When the elevator door opened, Vivica stepped out and immediately tried to figure out which way to go. the nurs
ing station was on one end and the waiting area was on the other. Vivica opted for the nurses’ station and rushed up to find out what room her best friend was in.
“Winifred Baxter’s room please,” Vivica politely demanded.
“Mrs. Baxter,” one of the nurses behind the desk droned. “Hmm, let me see.” The nurse spoke slowly which only served to exacerbate Vivica. Didn’t she understand the urgency of the situation?
“Ah yes, Mrs. Baxter is in room 343.”
“Thanks,” Vivica said out of respect as she moved quickly in the direction of Winnie’s room. When she arrived at the door, Vivica was greeted by all kinds of noises on the other side. She pushed the door open to find Winnie’s entire family inside, plus a few medical staff.
“Auntie Vivica,” Jacob Jr. called out.
“Hey everybody,” Vivica replied, making her way over to Winnie who looked to be in serious pain.
“You made it,” Winnie replied breathlessly.
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Vivica replied reaching out her hand to take Winnie’s.
“Ohhhhh,” Winnie groaned while simultaneously squeezing Vivica’s hand to the point of pain. Vivica’s twisted her torso in response, surprised by just how strong Winnie’s grip was.
“Should have warned you about that,” Big Jake said with a laugh.
“It’s fine,” Vivica replied trying to smile through the pain. Winnie kept a tight hold on Vivica and continued to groan through the contraction. This was a totally new experience for Vivica. Sure, she’d seen childbirth on television, but never up close and in person.
“So, when are they going to take her to the delivery room? She’s close right? Did they give her pain meds?” Vivica was concerned but Big Jake laughed again.
“Let’s see. We are in the delivery room. She has a way to go before the baby and she refused pain meds,” he answered.
Vivica looked around the room. It looked like a regular room, not a delivery room.
“Oh, so we’ll have to step out when it’s time,” Vivica said wincing from the pain in her hand. When Winnie finally relinquished her hold, Vivica eased her hand back and shook it, trying to revive circulation.
